Rug rolling machine



y 6 J. E. FAIR 3,250,484

RUGROLLING MACHINE Filed June 10, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 \HVQNTO Ja s E. F'NR BYMZ/W ATTQRNEY l/' 1966 J. E. FAIR RUG ROLLING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 10, 1964 R 08 m A N .VE MK c A J BYWMW ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,259,484 Patented May 10, 1966 a 250 484 FIG. 3 is a partial end view illustrating the connection a, RUG ROLLINtG M ACHINE of the rollers to a support frame and also illustrating the Jack E. Fair, 911 E. Corrington, Peoria, Ill. Filed June 10, 1964, Ser. No. 374,089 15 Claims. (Cl. 242-66) This invention relates to improvements in machines for rolling pliable material such as rugs, linoleum, fiber glass and the like and, more particularly, to machines which are capable of rolling such material on itself without the use of a center core.

Machines of this general type are well known but, heretofore, constructions of such machines have been rather complex in that they have generally included idler wheel arrangements for forming the material into a roll, relatively complicated drive arrangements to achieve desired roller speed and/ or auxiliary mechanisms associated with the rollers to ins,ure a compact roll.

A machine constructed in accordince with this invention includes a number of improved operating features over such prior machines and a general object of this invention is to provide an improved pliable material rolling machine which is simple in operation and has fewer operating parts as compared to such prior machines.

More specific objects of this invention are to provide an'improved pliable material rolling machine which rolls material without a center core and which incorporates a simplified roll forming arrangement, roller drive mechanism, and a simplified arrangement for achieving a compact roll.

For the achievement of these and other objects, this invention contemplates a machine construction which preferably includes three rollers, a stationary roller and two rollers mounted for movement with respect to the stationary roller. One of the rollers is arranged to mesh with the other two rollers to define a roll area and the other two rollers are relatively'arranged to permit passage of the pliable material therebetween into the roll area. A guide mechanism is provided at the entrance to the roll area and includes an arcuate face with the guide mechanism so arranged that the arcurate face is presented to the roll area. The rollers and guide mechanism define a closed roll area so that the material entering the area is directed in an arcuate path by the rollers andthe guide mechanism prevents exit of the material from the roll area and turns the material on itself to form a roll without the need of a center core.

In the preferred construction of the machine, the rollers are interconnected to be driven in the same direction and at the same speed and the movable rollers are interconnected to move simultaneously with respect to the stationary roller so as to accommodate an increase in the size of the material roll. Furthermore, in the preferred construction of the machine the guide mechanism is arranged to be moved out of the path of the pliable material as the material roll increases in size so as to eliminate any contact between it and the roll of material. Preferably, this movement of the guide mechanism occurs after the first turn of the material has been completed.

The novel features of my invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more clearly understood from a reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated and in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view of the rollers and guide mechanism in position for forming the initial turn of the material;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the rollers and guide mechanism after a number of turns have been formed;

drive arrangement for the rollers;

FIG. 4 is a partial end view of the opposite end of the machine illustrating the interconnection between the movable rollers to effect simultaneous movement thereof with respect to the stationary roller;

FIG. 5 is a partial view generally along line 5--5 of FIG. 1 illustrating the relationship of the guide mechanism with the rollers; and

FIG. 6 is a partial view illustrating the arrangement for retarding the guide mechanism.

With particular reference to the drawings, the machine includes three roller assemblies, stationary roller assembly 10 and two movable roller assemblies 12 and 14. The machine also includes end plates 16 and 18 (shown partly broken away in FIGS. 3 and 4) which form a part of the structural frame (not shown) for the machine and cooperate in the support of the roller assemblies and in guiding movement of the movable roller assemblies with respect to the stationary roller assembly as will be discussed more completely hereinafter. Angularly disposed slots 20 and 22 are provided in end plate 16 and end plate 18 includes angularly disposed slots 20a and 22a aligned with the slots in end plate 16. Bearing assemblies 24 and 26 are supported for movement in slots 20 and 22 and, similarly, bearing assemblies 24a and 26a are supported for movement in angular slots 20a and 22a. Roller assembly 12 includes shaft 28 which has its opposite ends journaled in bearing assemblies 24 and 24a and roller assembly 14 includes shaft 30 which has its opposite ends journaled in bearing assemblies 26 and 26a. Stationary roller 10 includes shaft 32 rotatably supported from end plates 16 and 1S and in fixed relation on the end plates. With this arrangement, roller assemblies 12 and 14 are mounted for movement with respect to the stationary roller along angularly divergent paths to accommodate an increase in the size of the roll.

Roller assemblies 10, 12 and 14 are similarly constructed and only a portion of roller assemblies 12 and 14 has been illustrated in FIG. 5. Roller assemblies 10, 12 and 14 are made up, respectively, of a number of disks 34, 34a and 34b supported on shafts 32, 28 and 30 in axially spaced relationship with spacers 36, 36a and 36b disposed therebetween. The disks of stationary roller 10 and movable roller 12 are offset from the disks on movable roller 14 and are aligned with spacers 36b to permit movable roller 14 to mesh with stationary roller 10 and movable roller 12 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The alternating disk and spacer arrangement is provided on each of the shafts across the length of the machine as desired to effect a particular roll size and, as can be seen in FIG. 1, when the rollers assume their initial normal position, they define a roll area 38 into which pliable material 40 is received.

As is well known in the art and therefore not illustrated in the drawings, pliable material 40 can be fed to the rollers in any suitable manner, i.e. manually or automatically on a conveyor. It is desirable that disk-s 34, 34a and 34b be provided with rubber covers 42, 42a and 42b for frictional contact with the pliable material and to insure its movement into the roll area for formation of the roll with a minimum of slippage. The rubber covers have not been illustrated in FIG. 5 but are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, pliable material 40 enters the roll area over stationary roller 10 and between that roller and movable roller 12. To complete the roll area and to insure the formation of the initial turn of the material upon which the final roll can be built, guide mechanism 44 is provided at the point of entry of the pliable material into the roll area. structurally, guide mechanism 44 includes a plurality of fingers 46 spaced along the length of the roller assemblies and, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the finger portions are aligned with the disks of roller 14 and with the spacers of roller '12 so that the finger portions can mesh with the movable roller 12 to more effectively close the roll area as will appear hereinafter. Each finger 46 terminates in an arcuate face 48 which faces toward the roll area and, in the preferred embodiment, is partially overlapped with the periphery of disks 34a for a smooth transition of the material from roller assembly 12 to the arcuate face. The guide mechanism also includes a roller 50' supported on each finger 46 so that they are spaced along the length of the roller assemblies and insure initial engagement of the pliable material with the periphery of stationary roller 10. Fingers 46 also include a second arcuate portion 52 which conforms to the periphery of roller and cooperates in guiding the pliable material into the roll area. More particularly, the pliable material is fed between stationary roller 10 and guide roller 50 and follows the periphery of roller 10 into the roll area. In a manner to be described more completely hereinafter, the rollers are all driven in the same direction and at the same speed so that the pliable material is guided by roller 10 into the periphery of movable roller 14'and upon engagement with roller 14 is directed upwardly toward movable roller 12. After engagement with movable roller 12 the material is directed into arcuate face 4 3 which prevents exit of the material from the roll area and turns the material on itself forming the initial turn upon which the remainder of the roll is formed. It will be noted that the particular arrangement of the rollers, i.e. being intermeshed as shown in FIG. 1, insures the required direction of the material to form the material roll without the use of auxiliary idler rollers or the like.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 3 for a description of the drive mechanisms for the rollers. Sprockets 54, 56 and 58 are keyed, or otherwise suitably connected, to shafts 2-8, 30 and 32 for rotation therewith. Motor 60 provides the power for driving the roller assemblies and chain 62 connects motor sprocket 64 to sprocket assembly 58 to transmit rotary motion to the stationary roller. Endless chain 66 provides a driving connection between sprocket assembly 58 and sprockets 54 and 56. More particularly, endless chain 66 passes from sprocket assembly 58 over sprocket 54, under idler sprocket 68 fixed on bearing assembly 24, over idler sprocket 70 fixed on end plate 16, extends around sprocket 72 fixed on the plate to sprocket 74 fixed on bearing assembly 26 from which it passes over sprocket 56 and idler sprocket 76, also fixed on end plate 16, to return to sprocket assembly 58. The movable idler sprockets 6 8 and 74 are in fixed relation with respect to shafts 28 and 30, fixed idler sprockets 70, 72 and 76 are spaced from sprocket assembly 58 in a direction generally parallel to the divergent paths of the movable roller assemblies to maintain the span of chain 66 in taut, parallel alignment with the line of travel of the movable roller in slots 20, 20a, 22, 22a, and the various sprockets are selected so that the roller assemblies are driven at the same speed in the same direction. This provides a simplified arrangement for rotating the roller assemblies at the same speed regardless of their position with respect to each other and the stationary roller assembly.

Preferably, the roller assemblies are arranged and supported so that the center lines of guide slots define an included angle which is bisected by a center line through the axis of the contemplated roll of material. With this arrangement roller assemblies 12 and 14 move along divergent paths which are equiangularly spaced on opposed sides of the center line. If the center line is horizontal, the roller assemblies, being substantially identical, are in equilibrium with respect to the material roll which is being formed and provide a minimum of weight on the roll of, material. In the preferred embodiment of this machine the slots are arranged so that the roller paths define an included angle of 60 and the center line bisects that included angle equally so that the slots are positioned at 30 on either side of the center line. As will be described more completely hereinafter, the guide mechanism is connected to the uppermost movable roller and its weight creates an unbalance between the roller assemblies so that they resist the increase in size of the material roll and provide a compact roll. To maintain desired roller balance on the material roll, roller assemblies preferably move simultaneously as they move outwardly with an increase in the roll size. To achieve this simultaneous movement, chains 78 and 80 are connected to bearing assemblies 24a and 26a, respectively, by clamps 82 (see FIG. 4). Chain 78 passes over sprocket 84 mounted on shaft -86 journaled on both end plates and extending across the length of the machine and also passes over common sprocket assembly 88. Chain 80 passes over sprocket 90 which, similar to sprocket 86, is supported on shaft 92, which is in turn journaled in both end plates and also passes over sprocket assembly 88. A similar support is provided on the opposite end of the machine, namely chains 78a and 80a connected to bearing assemblies '24 and '26 and passing over sprockets 84a, 90a and a common sprocket assembly behind sprocket 58. Thus, motion of either roller outwardly is immediately transmitted to the other and the two move simultaneously to maintain roller balance.

In some installations it maybe difiicult to arrange the machine such that the center line through the roll axis which bisects the included angle between the slots is horizontal in which case it is desirable to include a counter weight 94. counterweight 94 is preferably attached to movable roller assembly 12 through bearing assembly 24a by means of line 96 passing over pulley 98. Weight 94 can be varied to achieve any desired pressure of the rollers on the material roll.

The function of the guide mechanism 44 is primarily to form the initial turn of the material to insure a proper start for the roll. Once the initial turn has been made the guide mechanism is no longer essential to operation of the rolling machine. Accordingly, it is desirable to retract the guide mechanism from the path of the material roll once the roll has been started to thereby prevent engagement between the guide fingers and the material. To retract the guide mechanism, guide fingers 46 are fixed on and movable with a shaft 100 which extends the length of the machine and is supported for pivotal movement by brackets 102, 1026: which are connected to and movable with bearing assemblies 24 and 24a. Pivotal movement of shaft 100 results in pivotal movement of the guide fingers and, in the illustrated preferred embodiment, shaft 100 is pivoted by arms 104, 104a connected to shaft 100 and positioned at brackets 102, 102a. Arms 104 and 104a are fixed on the shaft and tension spring 106 is connected between one end of each of the arms and brackets 102, 102a '(see FIG. 6) and bias the arms in one direction. Rollers 108, 108a are provided at the end of each of arms 104, 104a and are arranged for engagement with fixed angle brackets 110, 110a which are mounted on both of the end plates. The position of arms 104, 104a determines the position of the fingers of the guide mechanism. When the movable roller assemblies are in the position of FIG. 1, rollers 108, 10811 are in engagement with brackets 110, 110a and the arms 104, 104a, and correspondingly the fingers, have been moved to and are held in the positions illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6. The guide mechanism moves outwardly mit springs 106 to pivot the arms and shaft 100 for retraction of fingers 46 into roller assembly 12. After roller assembly 12 has moved outwardly a sufficient amount to clear rollers 108, 108a from the brackets, springs 106 pivot the fingers within the disks of roller assembly 12 to clear the fingers from the material roll. Stops 112 are preferably provided on brackets 102, 102a to limit movement of the guide fingers so that they do not engage the spacers and result in undue wear.

In operation, pliable material 40 is guided over fixed roller assembly by rollers 50 and face 52 of fingers 46. The material is directed into the periphery of roller 14 where it is turned upwardly into engagement with roller assembly 12. After engagement with roller assembly 12 the material is turned into face 48 of the fingers whereupon it is turned back on itself to form the initial turn for the roll. The rolling action will continue until a roll of desired size is achieved. After formation of the initial roll, the movable rollers 12 and 14 are moved outwardly in angularly divergent paths and simultaneously therewith fingers 46 are retracted from their position for engagement with the roll into the confines of movable roller 12. When the material has been completely rolled, the movable roller assemblies can be driven outwardly in any suitable well-known manner to clear the roll which can then be dropped out of the machine between rollers 10 and 14 or otherwise suitably removed. After the roll has been removed the roller assemblies can be released and, since the guide mechanism is sufficient to unbalance the roller assemblies they will return to their normal meshed position under the force of gravity.

The illustrated and discussed construction represents the preferred embodiment of this invention. However, it will be appreciated that certain modifications can be made to the construction without departing from the scope of the invention in its broader aspects. For example, material could be rolled having two of the roller asesmblies remain stationary (10 and 14) and having only one roller assembly movable to accommodate the increase in roll size, while still having the roller assemblies meshed to form a closed roll area without the use of idler roller assemblies. However, it is recognized that such an alternative construction has some shortcomings in that the size of roll which could be formed would be limited and, therefore, the illustrated embodiment is the preferred construction. However, it should be noted that, although this invention has been illustrated and described in connection with particular embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for rolling a length of pliable material without the use of a center core, the combination of,

frame means, 4

one stationary roller means journaled in said frame,

a pair of movable roller means journaled in said frame,

one of said roller means normally meshed with the two other roller means to define a roll area and said two other roller means being normally arranged to provide an entrance for said pliable material into said roll area,

guide means disposed at said entrance and including an arcuate portion facing into said roll area for engagement by said pliable material to turn said pliable material on itself in said roll area and prevent its exit from said roll area,

and means supporting said movable roller means from said frame for movement awayfrom said stationary roller means in response to an increase in size of the roll of said material in said roll area.

2. The combination of claim 1 including means interconnecting said movable roller means for simultaneous movement with respect to said stationary roller means. 7

3. The combination of claim 1 including means for rotating said roller means in the same direction and at the same speed.

4. In a device for rolling a length of pliable material 5 without the use of a center core, the combination of,

frame means,

one stationary roller means journaled in said frame means,

first and second movable roller means supported for rotation on said frame means, said first movable roller means being normally meshed with said second movable roller means and said stationary roller means to define a roll area and said stationary roller means and said second roller means arranged to provide an entrance therebetween for movement of pliable material into said roll area,

gmide means disposed at said entrance for engagement with said pliable material to turn said pliable material on itself in said roll area and prevent its exit from said roll area,

and means supporting said movable roller means from said frame for movement along paths diverging outwardly from said roll area as the size of the roll of said material increases in said roll area.

5. The combination of claim 4 including means defining the divergent paths of said movable roller means and having an included angle which is bisected by a line through the center of said roll area and the axis of said material roll,

and including means connecting said movable roller means for simultaneous movement in response to increase in size of said material roll.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said line through the center of said roll area and bisecting said included angle is horizontal and said movable roller means are in equilibrium with respect'to and contact said material roll with equal pressure,

and wherein said guide means is connected to and supported by the uppermost movable roller means to unbalance said movable roller means so that they resist increase in the size of said material roll.

7. In a device for rolling a length of pliable material into a cylindrical roll without the use of a center core, the combination of,

frame means, I

a stationary elongated roller assembly rotatably supported in bearing means fixed to said frame means, first and second movable roller assemblies each rotatably supported in bearing means connected on said frame means,

said first movable roller assembly being meshed with said stationary roller assembly andsaid second movable roller assembly to define a roll area and said stationary roller assembly and said second movable roller assembly providing an entrance therebetween for movement of said pliable material into said r011 area,

guide means disposed at said opening and including a plurality of finger portions spaced along said roller assemblies and extending inwardly toward and terminating in an arcuate portion facing into said roll area for engagement by said pliable material to turn said pliable material on itself in said roll area and prevent its exit from said roll area,

and means supporting the bearing means for said movable roller assemblies for movement along paths diverging angularly away from said roll area and in response to an increase in the size of the material roll.

8. The combination of claim 7 including means defin- 70 ing the divergent paths of said movable roller assemblies and having an included angle which is bisected by a horizontal line through the center of said roll area and the axis of said material roll,

and including means connecting said movable roller assemblies for simultaneous movement in response to increase in size in said material roll.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein each of said roller assemblies are each provided with a sprocket, and including motor means,

chain means connecting said motor means to the sprocket of said stationary roller,

an endless chain connecting the sprockets of said stationary and movable'roller assemblies so that said roller assemblies are driven in the same direction and at the same speed,

and idler sprocket means engaging said endless chain and spaced from the sprocket means for said stationary roller assembly in a direction generally parallel to the direction of divergence of said paths.

10. The combination of claim 8 wherein said guide means is connected to and supported by the uppermost movable roller assembly to unbalance said movable roller assemblies so that they will resist increase in the size of said material roll.

11. The combination of claim 7 wherein said roller assemblies are each characterized by a periphery which undulates in an axial direction with the undulations of said one roller assembly offset from the undulations of the other roller assemblies to allow said roller assemblies to mesh.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein said roller assemblies each include a plurality of disks spaced axially on each of said roller assemblies,

and a spacer disposed between adjacent pairs of said disks and characterized by having a diameter which is less than the diameter of said disks.

13. In a device for rolling a length of pliable material without the use of a center core, the combination of,

frame means,

three roller assemblies,

means supporting said roller assemblies in triangular relationship,

means supporting one of said roller assemblies with its periphery meshed with the peripheries of the other two roller assemblies to define a closed roll area and said two other roller assemblies being normally spaced to provide an entrance therebetween for pliable material into said roll area,

means supporting at least one of said roller assemblies for movement outwardly of said roll area in response to an increase in the size of a material roll in said roll area,

and guide means arranged at said entrance for turning said pliable material on itself to prevent its exit from said roll area.

triangular relationship with said stationary roller 7 assemblies,

means supporting said movable roller assemblies for movement away from said stationary roller assembly along angularly divergent paths,

and means interconnecting said movable roller assemblies for joint movement along said paths in response to an increase in the size of a material roll in said roll area,

said angular divergent paths arranged to define an included angle therebetween which is bisected by a horizontal line extending through the center of said roll area. 15. The combination of claim 14 wherein said first roller assembly is meshed with said second roller assembly and said stationary roller assembly to form a closed roll area and said second roller assembly and said stationary roller assembly are normally spaced to provide an entrance to said roll area, said combination also including guide means disposed at said entrance for engagement with said pliable material to turn said pliable material on itself in said roll area and prevent its exit from said roll area, I

and means connecting said guide means to the uppermost of said movable roller assemblies for movement, in response to 'said increase in size in said roll of pliable material, jointly with said uppermost movable roller assembly and relative to said uppermost roller assembly to move said guide means away from said entrance.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,872,018 8/1932 Street 242-56 2,215,174 9/1940 Dyken.

2,573,188 10/1951 Dyken 24266 2,706,094 4/1955 Dyken 242-66 2,849,191 8/1958 Gadlel 242--56 3,052,073 9/1962 Johansen et al 242- X STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner.

W. S. BURDEN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A DEVICE FOR ROLLING A LENGTH OF PLIABLE MATERIAL WITHOUT THE USE OF A CENTER CORE, THE COMBINATION OF, FRAME MEANS, ONE STATIONARY ROLLER MEANS JOURNALED IN SAID FRAME, A PAIR OF MOVABLE ROLLER MEANS JOURNALED IN SAID FRAME, ONE OF SAID ROLLER MEANS TO DEFINE A ROLL AREA AND SAID TWO OTHER ROLLER MEANS TO DEFINE A ROLL AREA AND SAID TWO OTHER ROLLER MEANS BEING NORMALLY ARRANGED TO PROVIDE AN ENTRANCE FOR SAID PLIABLE MATERIAL INTO SAID ROLL AREA, GUIDE MEANS DISPOSED AT SAID ENTRANCE AND INCLUDING AN ARCUATE PORTION FACING INTO SAID ROLL AREA FOR ENGAGEMENT BY SAID PLIABLE MATERIAL TO TURN SAID PLIABLE MATERIAL ON ITSELF IN SAID ROLL AREA AND PREVENT ITS EXIT FROM SAID ROLL AREA, AND MEANS SUPPORTING SAID MOVABLE ROLLER MEANS FROM SAID FRAME FOR MOVEMENT AWAY FROM SAID STATIONARY ROLLER MEANS IN RESPONSE TO AN INCREASE IN SIZE OF THE ROLL OF SAID MATERIAL IN SAID ROLL AREA. 